Ghost Shrimp

[Tommy Gunnz]

Hey all!

Just wondering what the pros and cons may be for inviting a few ghost shrimp to live in my tanks might be? I am thinking of adding them to a 55 gallon tank that has mollies and platies in it to help clean up a little bit. Is this something the shrimp may do for me? I just read an interesting article in a magazine about keeping shrimp and thought that this may be a good place to start for now. Also, wondering if anyone has experience with ghost shrimp and could tell me a little about them.

Thanks!

 

[Araxen]

I'm not a pro on them but they are pretty easy to keep. I have one in my 5 gallon with my betta and another in my 15 gallon with other fish and they are doing well. Some fish will eat them though so you have to be careful. I think my betta might have finally gotten to urge as I haven't seen my shrimp in a day or so.

They never sleep so they are always doing something in the tank either scrounging around for stuff in the tank or cleaning themselves. They love plants too to climb on and they'll clean the plants too. I"m sure there are others with more experience with them.

With a 55 gallon you might want to look at some Amano shrimp as they get bigger than the ghost shrimp. They are more expensive though. I know the closest petsmart to me had ghost shrimp .30 each while the Amano shrimp were $11.00 but they were pretty much full grown shrimp.

 

[wodesorel]

I try to keep about a dozen ghost shrimp in my smaller tank at all times. I think they do a great job of "grooming" the tank and the snails. They'll eat just about anything!

I do have problems with my betta taking one for a snack now and then, but it's good nutrition for the fish, and the black kuhli loaches and the other shrimp love cleaning up the mess. Every so often they'll just end up dead - probably from a bad molt, but I've never been sure of the exact cause.

If you have a filter with large intake holes you'll need to use something to block the holes up. The shrimp get sucked right into the filter at alarming rates. Even with a filter with smaller holes you should check the intake once a day because they sometimes get a leg stuck. (Just unplug the filter for a moment and they'll free themselves and be fine.)

I really enjoy them more than the bamboo shrimp I paid 6 bucks for. I barely ever see the big guy, but the ghost shrimp are out and moving 24/7. You should get a large group of them, though, because they like to "herd" around the tank together, grazing like sheep. I've always read that they have no effect on the bioload, but I don't know how true that is.

 

[RESGuy]

Interesting ... I wanted to buy some Amano Shrimp for my tank but I didn't think they were so expensive. I guess Ill look into Ghost Shrimp then. They sound pretty cool ...

 

[wodesorel]

Just a note about the prices - shop around!

I found two places with bamboo shrimp - one wanted 12.99 and the other wanted 5.99! I was shocked - and it was for the same shrimp, they were just sold under different names.

You can find smaller places that sell ghost shrimp by the dozen for about 1.99, or the chain stores will have them for about 30 cents a piece. (I wouldn't pay more than this for them, and I've heard of places charging 2 dollars a piece!) Chain stores sell them as pets and not feeder food, and they'll usually ask when you're going to do with them. I usually just go to the big places because I'm already there picking up cat food and I don't like making extra trips.

Hope this helps!



Oh! And they do need some aquarium salt, so keep that in mind in case you have salt-sensitive fish. I add a fraction of what you're supposed to, because of the loaches, but the shrimp seem to be okay with it.

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

Thanks for the information. I have found ghost shrimp at a local shop right down the road for 25 cents a peice and was thinking about getting around 8 or 12 of them. I need them because the tank I want them to be in has a lot of platy fry in it and I am constantly crushing up flake food for them, which usually ends up in the gravel. I know that it shouldnt happen, but I try to feed the fry often in small amounts and still, the gravel is a mess when I clean (which is weekly).

However, I also have four clown loaches in this tank and one rainbow shark. Would this cause a problem for the shrimp? These five fish were actually in another tank that I had some compatability problems with (the LFS had sold me too many rainbow sharks and my loaches caused problems with my eels and always kept them hidden.) I am pretty much tied into keeping these fish becuase my kids are now attached to them, but I guess if it was a real big problem I could forgo the shrimp, or better yet...BUY ANOTHER TANK! (Don't tell my wife that idea though!

 

[dthoffsett]

I'd go ahead and get the shrimp and see what happens. I got some one day on a whim, and I really like them now. They are always out and about, especially at feeding time, they even take flakes away from the fish. If the ghost shrimp get eaten alot, you could get a larger one. If it's bigger than the fishes mouths chances are they won't eat it (although some fish will try to eat anything.)

 

[wodesorel]

I can vouch for the fact that if the fish wants to eat the ghost shrimp - it will eat the ghost shrimp. I actually had to pull a shrimp that was the size of my betta (fins and all) from the bettas mouth, because he got it stuck and couldn't swallow it and couldn't spit it out. If you want to see the funniest thing in your life - try playing tag-of-war with a full-grown betta. You will lose.

Luckily not all fish are that stupid.

The best you can do is try it with your fish and see what happens. Ghost shrimp molt when they grow larger (cast off their shells and grow new ones, just like snakes and spiders). During this time, predators will eat them because they're vulnerable. They also don't have very protective shells, so they're easily eaten even when not molting. I've provided all kids of shrimp only hiding places, and they still proceed to molt and play in open water and get eaten by the betta. This is why shrimp have not taken over the world.

Ghost shrimp are also known to have "bad" molts in aquariums, and sometimes just die when it happens. I've read that it's lack of calcium, iodine and salt, but I've tried all of these things in various amount, and the shrimp still have "bad" molts. I think it's just one of those things that happens.

The good thing about the more expensive shrimp like bamboo shrimp and amano shrimp is that they have MUCH harder shells. My bamboo can support his own weight out of water and run across the desk. Please don't ask how I know this. Ghost shrimp become these little sticks that fling themselves around by their tails because they have no major support structure. (Though they can shoot themselves across a room and land by very hungry cats with relative ease. ) Anyhoo, with harder shelled shrimp, I doubt that fish would want them for lunch. I just got into keeping bamboo shrimp, and I've never had the other kinds, so I don't know for sure what their mortality rate is. My betta keeps his distance, though.

 

[RESGuy]

All this shrimp talk is really making me want to get some very soon!!!


Check this out guys:

http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=1843 <---- Cheap Amano Shrimp

http/caridina.japonica.online.fr/English/index.html <---- Very cool and informative Amano Shrimp Site

 

[wodesorel]

They may be cheap, but you need to buy 29.99 bucks worth of stuff for them to ship to you. (I was gonna until I read the fine print.) I do think there are other places online that will sell less for about the same price. Call around to local stores (the privately owned ones) and see if they can special order what you want in.

What I really really really want is this: http/www.petshrimp.com/africanfiltershrimp.html
I haven't been able to find any locally, and online the cheapest that I've seen is 20 dollars plus shipping. That thing is sooooooooooooo cool.

 

[RESGuy]

I agree that is awesome!!!!!

 

[AMS]

Be aware that the name "Ghost Shrimp" covers a wide variety of Palaeomonidae species. Some of the shrimp in the Palaeomonidae family are freshwater, but most others are brackish-marine. In the United States, Palaeomonetes kadakensis seems to be most common, and it happens to be freshwater. In the United Kingdom and Europe Palaeomonetes pugio seems to be most prominent, which happens to be brackish to marine. Let it be known that many of the brackish-marine species are found in the United States, so don't bank on yours being freshwater. The brackish-marine species will not survive in a freshwater aquarium.

Oh! And they do need some aquarium salt, so keep that in mind in case you have salt-sensitive fish. I add a fraction of what you're supposed to, because of the loaches, but the shrimp seem to be okay with it.

Aquarium salt will do nothing, I can not stress this enough. The brackish-marine species need marine salt, but more than Platies can handle, however the Mollies actually need marine salt (although some will be fine in hard/alkaline freshwater) as much as the brackish-marine ghost shrimp need it.

 

[RESGuy]

Okay thanks AMS

 

[Araxen]

Is it true the shrimp don't contribute to the bio-load of your tank? I don't think it's correct but I'm hoping someone will confirm.

I found some red cherry shrimp on aquadbid(10 for $29.95 shipped) and are they as active as ghost shrimp?

 

[wodesorel]

Everything I've read has said the same thing about ghost shrimp not adding to and maybe even subtracting from the bioload of the tank. I'm inclined not to believe it, but I doubt they have much impact.

As for the larger species of shrimp - well, lets just say my bamboo shrimp poos more than the betta and the loaches combined!